1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast bread on a baking sheet until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Butter a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk creme fraiche in another bowl, adding milk gradually to prevent lumps; whisk into egg mixture. Whisk in vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Soak each slice of bread in custard. Stand slices up next to one another in pan.

3. Strain half the custard mixture over bread in pan. Let stand for 10 minutes, allowing custard to soak into bread. Slowly add remaining custard to cover (you may have some custard left over).

4. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake until pudding is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If top browns too quickly before pudding is set, cover with foil, and continue baking. Let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring cranberries and maple syrup to a gentle simmer in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries just begin to soften but have not popped, about 5 minutes. Serve pudding with cranberry topping.